Parliament holds emergency debate over surge in asylum seekers
Friday 16 May 2014
Parliament is holding an emergency debate on Thursday following claims by
junior justice minister Fred Teeven that 1,000 refugees a week are currently
arriving in the Netherlands.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands has gone up from
1,000 a month in February and March to around 1,000 a week, junior justice
minister Fred Teeven said on Wednesday evening.
Teeven described the situation on television show
<
http://nos.nl/artikel/647952-duizend-asielzoekers-per-week.html> Eén op één
as ‘alarming’.
‘It would seem to be organised human smuggling,’ he said. ‘You can see it in
the people’s clothes and the fact their stories have been coordinated. They
also all appear to have the same amount of money with them.'
Southern Europe
The asylum seekers, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, arrive in the Netherlands
by train from southern Europe, he said.
The increase in refugees is a European problem and should be tackled at a
European level, said D66 parliamentarian Gerard Schouw.
Other MPs called for better controls at Europe’s external borders and more
spot checks on the Dutch borders with Belgium and Germany. Spot checks are
currently subject to strict limits under EU rules.
A spokesman for the border police said more capacity has been placed at the
Dutch borders.
Refugee centres
Meanwhile, the central refugee organisation COA is working hard to cope with
the influx and find sufficient accommodation. Some refugee centres which
were closed as numbers fell are being re-opened.
'We have seen the rise in pressure on care services and are looking for
accommodation options,' a spokesman told Nos television. 'We have never seen
such numbers.'
In some centres, recreation areas are being turned into temporary
dormitories.
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- Police border patrols to be stepped up as refugee numbers surge
Friday 16 May 2014
Junior minister Fred Teeven plans to increase the number of spot checks at
the Dutch borders in an effort to stem the surge in refugee requests in the
Netherlands.
The minister said he planned to increase the number of patrols by the border
police from July 1. He made the comments during an emergency debate on his
claims that 1,000 asylum seekers a week are now coming to the Netherlands.
However, the border teams cannot stop people claiming asylum in the
Netherlands, Teeven said. But they can gather valuable information about the
routes people are using to come the Netherlands. He suspects people
smugglers are behind the current surge.
Most of the recent arrivals have not registered in another EU country which
should have happened if they arrived, say, in Italy. Teeven said he had
spoken to his Italian counterpart about this.
Under the so-called Dublin rules, asylum seekers are supposed to ask for
asylum in the first EU country they arrive in.
© DutchNews.nl
Received on Fri May 16 2014 - 07:35:19 EDT